Spelunking in Veldesh (Flame/Vio)

[Flame]

The Imp’s Delight, a peachy little pub just on the eastern limits of Portsden. It is a fairly respectable joint pulling in those miners who have done well for themselves. The food, is good for its class of customer though nothing one might recommend to a noble. The atmosphere is light, large windows surround its wooden structure, bringing in the sun’s rays from all angles. While at peak times a somewhat crowded mess of chatty old folk speaking of better times and men in their prime speaking on profit and family plans, during the off hours it becomes a quiet peaceful hiding hole for those who want a little space from the busy nature of the dockside restaurants. At these times, it becomes the perfect diner in which to plan escapades while eating a flavorful and savory home cooked -

“Are you quite done? Where’s all this coming from anyways, can’t be your head”

“From Kent of course! … What? I can’t spread the vibes?”

“No please don’t, it gives Mitsui and I the creeps. Please stop at once.”

A sigh filled with disappointment fell from the young man’s lips. “You guys take out all the fun in life sometimes do you know that?” He stood opposite the place in question one hand sitting gently upon his hip. He wore khaki shorts and a thin white shirt through which one could barely make out the body beneath. Upon his shoulder sat perched a black cat and beside him a girl of about his age wearing jeans and a long light gray button-up. They were exchanging knowing glances. “You know we already agreed to this stupid cave diving expedition of yours.” The girl said with a slight smile upon her face.

“Agreed? Why am I the only one going then?”

“Well someone has to watch the ship and you’re a cat.” The girl said nodding her head sagely happy with her argument. The cat scowled as best he could his tail hanging back over the young man’s shoulder. “I don’t see why you wanted to watch the ship in the first place. We’re going spelunking!” The young man butted in a grin planted firmly upon him. The door of the Imp’s Delight swung open and a figure stood in it waving to the trio. “Yoooo”

“YOOOOO!!!” The young man smiled waving back at the man in the doorway. He beckoned the group to come to him, “Well I think this is where I leave you, Kano … Oliver, have fun on the expedition!” She smiled at them. The cats scowl continued, betrayed by his ally on the crew to be put at the mercy of the fool, oh she would pay for this. He didn’t know how yet but she would pay.

“Yep! Have fun watching the ship.” Kano responded saluting her with a smile as she turned about and strolled off. There was some pep in her step and a giggle upon her lips as she went. That was good, she was happy with her situation, why she didn’t want to go on this great expedition was beyond Kano but then, he never really understood her in the first place. “Shall we?” He said peppily to the cat on his shoulder as he started to walk on. The cat looked at him for a moment then sighed, it was just him and the idiot again, it had been so improving since their time on Battalia Island but now … oh now.

With expedience Kano hurriedly walked his way to the door looking upon his new friend who still stood holding the door open for him.

“Kent!”

“Kano!”

The pair embraced in a manly pat on the back before quickly departing from each other. Kent was dressed for the occasion. He wore cargo pants, thick and filled with pockets that seemed to hide secrets a plenty. A belt looped loosely about them hanging small bags and the like. A similarly styled vest covered his body atop a white cotton shirt. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and looked coolly at Kano with a confident smile. “Come in come in. No one else is here yet but I’m sure we’ll get more takers. The promise of riches and the prospect of spelunking must be tasty to more people’s ears than just you.”

Kano nodded, “Absolutely, oh by the way this is Oliver.” He gestured to the cat upon his shoulder. Kent paused watching Kano with concerned eyes. “Are you serious?” The youth nodded back to Kent fervently. “I see …” he trailed off, “Ah well why don’t we get some drinks and wait for the others. We’ve still got another hour or so before we need to head out.” Kano nodded and the pair walked over to one of many open tables. It was still early in the day so the crowd was almost non-existent save for a few folk eating a late breakfast in the booths in the back of the pub’s room.

Nearly as soon as they sat down a bearded man perhaps only in his early forties came forth. He was short, very short, so much so that Kano could only gape and stare at him. “What you’ve never seen a quarter-dwarf?” The man asked Kano whose mouth shut immediately. “No Sir!” Kano saluted quickly causing the quarter-dwarf to stare at him before cracking a smile and belting out a few laughs. “Well then Kent, what’ll you and your friend have to drink?”

“I’ll take the usual, get this kid a soda, looks like he could some sugar after that treatment you gave him.” Kent said with cracking a casual smile. “Ahh he’ll be okay.” The quarter-dwarf said stepping over to Kano and patting him on the back. “Lanion Tyris.” He put forth a hand and the young man loosely placed his hand within it having Lanion do all the work. Lanion’s brow furrowed as he looked at him, “You’ve found a weird one Kent …”

“You know you’d be surprised if I told you he’s normally quite energetic and talkative.”

“Really now … well we’ll see about that. One scotch and one soda coming up …” Lanion said with a flourish of the hand as he walked off. Kent looked at Kano the youth still dumb-faced. “Pull yourself together Kano.”

Kano blinked twice and then at once slapped himself on both cheeks once then twice. He shook his head, “So … Spelunking! How does it work?”

“Why don’t we wait for the others first.” Kano paused then nodded “An excellent plan.” From his perch on Kano’s shoulder all Oliver could do was sigh. “You’re not from Veldesh, how bout you tell me how you got all the way out here.” Kent teed Kano up and the lights lit within his eyes once more. Dropping from his perch onto the table Oliver curled up beside Kano, this was going to be a long story and he wasn’t particularly interested in hearing it again.

SPOILER: Click to show

KANO - FEFE19
OLIVER - B2B2B2
MITSUI - 7DF9FF
KENT - E60000
Lanion - D1A318

[Vio]

1

---

Peachy… That was anything but the word that Arelya Gaille would use to describe her current experiences of Veldesh. Thus far, the country of the Grand Line had heralded little in the way of wonderment, through no fault of its own. Sure, Veldesh was a place of marvel, but the concept of mining and being contained within enclosed caverns and tunnels deep beneath the surface world was far from an appealing one to the lime-haired, jade-eyed tinkerer. She had better business to attend to, sailing the skies upon a fanciful airship. Alas, it was but a pipe dream at present.

“Miscreants and adventurers?” questioned Arelya, meandering through Portsden’s streets as her eyes scanned a simple flyer that had been nailed to a post and was now clutched in her hands. It served her little, and her initial interest was haphazard at best, but she had taken it nonetheless. With every word read, her mood soured, until she spied the magic word: “T– Treasure? G– Gold?” One could practically hear the ‘Cha-Ching’, see the glint in her eyes even. While the promise of new technology enticed her more, the prospect of wealth to help her approach that goal was just as tantalising.

“Hmm… Now I’ve just gotta find this ‘Imp’s Delight’,” she muttered, looking to her left – and then to her right – before settling her gaze straight ahead. Green eyes blinked. Black ones did not. Of the many weird and wonderful critters that existed in this world, the one that faced Miss Gaille now was anything but ordinary. An enormous insect, fuzzy and black and yellow, stood before her. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, uncertain of what she was looking at, save for her own reflection in the monstrosity’s glossy lenses.

^{“Th– That’s a… big bee.”}

^{“Ain’t he just, honey,” a man’s voice replied:
“I s’pose you could say he’s a bee-hemoth!”}

^Brzt!

“Honni–Honni–Honni–Honni!” Sat atop the beast’s back, upon a strange arrangement of saddle and strap, was a somewhat portly yet sturdy man of middle age and peppered muttonchops joined by a moustache. Almost befittingly, and definitely not bee-fittingly, he was dressed in white bib and brace overalls with a yellow and black, horizontally striped polo shirt. A broad-rim hat of golden-brown straw woven in a honeycomb fashion sat upon his head, further accentuating his already rather obvious and irritating theme. It was comparable to a bee repeatedly crashing into a window pane trying to escape, except she did not draw that comparison, because that would have just added to the swarm of bad puns.

^“…”

“Ain’tcha gonna ask me name, honey?” he quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

^“No.”

^{“It’s Buzz L– Wait, what?”}

“Stupid bee puns, I’m only looking for an inn, for Gan Fall’s sake–” Continue to grumble did Arelya, circumnavigating the oversized worker and his foolish rider and taking extra care not to disturb the bee’s backside. If a standard bee’s sting could be painful, then one of this mass could probably impale her, and she certainly did not want to be nailed to a bee’s backside until somebody was kind enough to surgically remove her. Nonetheless, she left ‘Buzz’ and his annoying habits behind – as well as the poor bee that probably had to suffer through them. Adventure called. More importantly, so did the gold, and maybe some suckers she could rob without them realising…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[/i][/b]

Arelya Gaille (00c00c)

[/ul][/spoiler][/font][/sub][/blockquote][/div][/div][/div]

[Flame]

Kano talked and talked the minutes away. A smile swirled upon his face as he recounted his journey from as far back as the South Blue days. His tale began at the beginning of it all with the Pirate's Market, chasing him to Ciudadela Queendom and his misadventure in the crate. From there it spun into the North Blue chasing odd tales of his shenanigans up until he met Oliver. Kent the whole time played the interested listener asking every now and then for clarification but otherwise just taking it all in intently.

As he continued on he told of his crossing of the Calm Belt leaving Kent spluttering upon hearing that Kano had been swallowed by a sea king. That part of the story also earned him a trio of scratch marks on an open arm as Oliver scowled at him. From there he ran on to the excitement of Arabara Island and the weird meetings upon Battalia which finally brought him to story's close back here. Kano could not have been happier as Kent took in the whole story his eyes locked in amazement on the bundle of craziness which followed Kano about. "Well that's quite something." Kent said his eyes wide with disbelief at the tail which had been spun about him.

The spelunker was lost for words as he tried to put his mind about all that he had just been told. Tilting his head slightly he finally found a response tilting his head slightly he put on his best frown twinging with the turnings of a smile. "After all that, I wonder about bringing you on this trip ..." Kent remarked in an amused voice.

Upon the table Oliver's head swayed back and forth slightly. Kano grinned amused as always "What's life without a little excitement?" His cheesy response pulling a toothy grin from Kent's face. And he laughed, a deep throat chuckle rang through the bar turning heads momentarily before they turned back to their own meals and conversations. Reaching down Kent grasped the drink before him bringing it up and taking a sip. "Oof do you make me feel old ..." Kent said with an weary sigh. "We must be about the same age, I don't think I ever told you but I'm 27."

Kano brought a brilliant red eye to his spelunking companion eyes glittering with amusement. Twenty Seven! He looked a bit younger than twenty seven, Kano could've sworn he was in his early twenties. Either way it was old for Kano.

"19." Kano responded laughing with amusements as Kent's eyes widened once again. Was it so surprising? Kano had that youthful vigor and boundless energy that Oliver often told him would disappear as he grew older."27! You're a fossil!" Kent scowled slightly slapping Kano on the back of the head twice. A soft bump rising on Kano's head he could do naught but giggle uncontrollably at the table like a little child. "Stop that giggling. You're like a little girl." The spelunker extraordinaire flicked Kano in the forehead this time.

Bringing both hands to his mouth Kano covered it barely containing laughter that was bubbling up from within him. "Twenty ... Seven" the words like a whisper slid out of Kano's mouth and he crashed into the table with laughter once again. Kent did not look pleased.